The production of fibers by the fibrillation of oriented film has been a process available to the market for considerable time; however, fibers produced by fibrillation have not been fully accepted by the fiber industry due to the lack of proper hand and resiliency. This is particularly true concerning the use of polyolefin fibers such as polypropylene fibers in the carpeting industry. While polypropylene fibers have been used in some indoor/outdoor carpeting, the lack of resiliency have retarded their extensive use.
The present invention concerns a process and apparatus for making fibrillated hollow fibers from film. These hollow fibers exhibit improved hand and resiliency.